"Aren't we being a little too hasty?" Nightingale expressed her worry, "The new biplanes only arrived yesterday, and they didn't even complete any formal training regarding the dropping of bombs."

Having been by Roland's side for so long, she had a clear understanding towards the First Army's combat processes. Every newly announced plans absolutely required drills and dummy runs. The General Staff would first undergo war room planning and verify its feasibility before moving onto the actual drill practice. Although the operation was to prepare for the Glory of the Sun, it was itself a standalone battle. According to usual practices, partic.i.p.ants had to first study and practice with the corresponding task until they were confident of success before executing the mission.

"Yes, but time waits for no man." Roland nodded. "Currently, all our reports indicate that Hackzord did not appear in any battle… In other words, the letter worked. The problem is that the Sky Lord is naturally mistrustful and paranoid; no one knows how long the letter will work to keep him away, so the faster the air strike occurs, the better."

On a fundamental level, the operation was like the a.s.sault force—to probe the enemy. How would they react to an air strike? Did the Deity of G.o.ds have any corresponding defensive measures? All of these were questions that they needed answers to before the decisive battle.

"Then… will it be fine without any training?

"Relax." Roland smiled. "Tilly already has a plan."

Dropping a bomb was a technical skill that required perfect coordination between the pilot and plane's equipment where even just ten to fifteen days of practice would produce little results. Now that they were in a rush for time, the first batch of Fury of Heavens did not come installed with sighting equipment, so it was impossible to practice even if they wanted to.

The plan proposed by Tilly made Hill a.s.sume central command—as long as the speed and alt.i.tude of the planes were defined, the drop point could be calculated; thus, the entire process became extremely simple. There was no need for the pilot to observe the ground; he was only required to release the trigger upon receiving command.

This method was somewhat similar to the early warning aircraft systems employed and developed in later generations, where the capabilities of tracking, positioning and, pursuit of the desired target were outsourced to a third party. When the data to open fire was transmitted to the aircraft, the latter would unleash fire and complete the final step for the offense.

The Seagull was precisely the early warning aircraft system to be in control of the overall situation.

"So that's how it is." After Roland's explanation, Nightingale revealed a look of enlightenment. "As expected of Princess Tilly…"

"Oh?" Roland raised a brow. "And I thought that you would be sighing with regret for being the only person to not understand what it means."

"Well of course, that might have been possible if it were the past." She rolled her eyes. "But with Anna around, even people who have immense amount of knowledge would believe that they know nothing. I've long gotten used to it."

Roland was dumbstruck by her reply. There was nothing glorious about it, yet Nightingale was able to answer with such confidence. But her frank reply made him surprised as well.

"And I've understood something over the past few years…" Nightingale shrugged her shoulders.

"What's that?"

"See, you're not a know-it-all, right?" She turned toward the gentle rays of the morning sun, her fringe reflecting the golden light. "But since you asked, I will reluctantly explain it to you—every single person has their respective strengths; there isn't a need to blindly imitate someone else and one should focus on their own strengths. Or could it be that you only like… people who are extremely knowledgeable?"

"…" Roland was momentarily left speechless.

But it was a question that did not require his answer.

Nightingale's expression revealed that she understood him clearly.

"That's all there is to it. So remember to place more Chaos Drinks inside the cabinet." Nightingale shook her fingers and turned to walk down the castle. "When everyone returns in triumph, I have to gather them to have a good celebration."

Roland stared at her departing figure for a long time before coming to his senses. We aren't even in Neverwinter, where am I supposed to obtain Chaos Drinks… and that sentence of focusing on one's strengths, wasn't it just a pretext for her to enjoy life openly!

He shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry and followed along.

…

"This is Seagull, Your Highness. You have entered the floating island's alert radius." Early in morning at 8:35, Sylvie used the Sigil of Listening and issued her first warning. "In less than a minute, the fleet will be within the attacking radius of the steles."

"Copy." Tilly sneered. "I see them."

Tilly never thought of hiding herself from the demons right from the beginning, she knew that the Deity of G.o.ds had Eye Demons as sentries—the moment Sylvie saw them, they immediately noticed her. If the Seagull revealed its importance, it would be unfavorable to the plan. So she chose to go all in and attract as much attention of the enemy onto the fleet of fighter planes.

Right after Sylvie's first warning, the enemies reacted.

Many black dots rose into the air from the island and went into formation before flying towards them.

Hmph, they are rather cautious. Tilly activated the wireless transmitter emotionlessly and tuned to all frequencies. "Attention, the demons have revealed themselves. Everyone, focus and prepare for battle! Team One, Team Two, move according to plan!"

"Understood," Good and Manfeld replied at the same time.

The Aerial Knights had an extremely simple formation. 50 biplanes were divided into two waves. The team tasked with the bombardment flew above the clouds in order to cut down the detection time of the enemies. Aside from the Fury of Heaven team and the five planes to protect the Seagull, the remaining 35 Fire of Heaven planes a.s.sumed the role of scattering the Demon's defense.

The main fighter planes quickly closed into the 10 kilometer radius of the stronghold. At this distance, the black rocks on the floating island that resembled scales and the central city were visible with the naked eye. But at this moment, the steles that surrounded the stronghold didn't rise as though non-existent.

To their expectations, the black steles were not meant to fight against the Aerial Knights.

"This is Phoenix. Has anyone located the Senior Lord that ambushed the ground force previously?" Tilly asked.

"…" Sylvie searched for a moment. "Not yet."

Seems like luck is on our side today. Tilly looked back at the sun which was slowly rising above the horizon, the blinding light had perfectly covered the Aerial Knight's direction of offense.

"The weather is good; a perfect day for their eternal rest."

She suddenly accelerated. With the resounding roar from the engine, her plane flew upwards and was the first to shoot towards the enemy—

…

"Princess Tilly has engaged the enemy." Sylvie reported with a solemn expression. From the looks of the situation, the Aerial Knights were at a clear disadvantage in terms of numbers. As they had taken the initiative to attack the demons' main nest, the mobilization of the Devilbeasts were much faster than the previous time. "The enemy count is still increasing, if this goes on… they will get surrounded."

As though having sensed her worry, Wendy rea.s.sured her, "Relax, although there are more demons, the Aerial Knights do not need to shoot every single one of them down. They only need to delay them for ten minutes. Those devilbeasts cannot compete in terms of speed, it'll be better if you focus on the main objective."

That's right… the earlier we drop the bombs, the earlier they are able to retreat. Worrying for both ends will only make me lose sight of my objective. Sylvie bit her lips and focused her attention to the center of the main island.

Through the layers of Red Mist, a grand square and sharp monument suddenly entered her vision.

Although she was observing from a high and distant alt.i.tude, she was able to sense the immensity of the building—the building standing at a height of several hundred meters resembled a pillar rising from the deepest pit into the heavens. It felt as though all the human buildings that she had encountered had lost their l.u.s.ter in the presence of this construct.